First Timers

Cagney's Steakhouse

Used one of our specialty meals here. Included appetizer, an entrée, two sides, and desert. Sides were almost comically small, especially if you were paying the $8 menu price for them. For free they’re fine and it’s not like you’re going to a steakhouse for their steamed broccoli anyway. The steak on the other hand was well worth coming here for. Easily better than the prime rib I had at either O’Sheehan’s or the Grand Pacific. In case you’re curious the steamed broccoli was kind of bland even by steamed broccoli standards.

Magenta Main Dining Room

Ate here once. Only open for supper and has the same menu as the Grand Pacific. Much smaller than the Grand Pacific and looks and feels less classy. Food is of the same quality but service was a bit slower here. Still not a long wait for our food but not as fast as it was everywhere else.

Garden Café

Ate here a few times as you just can’t beat the convenience. Not a fan of crowds and spent most of the cruise trying to avoid people so usually avoided it for breakfast and lunch since it seemed to be busiest then. Fortunately lots of seating and if you walk all the way down to the third room it was always quiet and sparsely filled. Good assortment of food for all meals but after 10 days some of the regular items started getting boring. Theme nights were funny since they usually amounted to one or two different items that sort of fit the theme and a cake that said Welcome to “________” night. In the end it’s a buffet so you should know what to expect.

Moderno Churrascaria

Ate here twice. When first researching cruises and cruise lines I stopped as soon as I saw Norwegian has a Brazilian Steakhouse. We’ve been to many different ones on land over the years and is our go to if we want an expensive meal. Is Moderno the best we’ve ever ate at? No. It was still very good and well worth the visits. The first night the gauchos were bringing the meat much faster than they did the second night but you don’t go to a Brazilian Steakhouse looking for a quick meal, so that was fine. Can’t say anything about the salad bar since if you spend too much time filling up there then you’re doing it wrong.

Grand Pacific Main Dining Room

Came here a couple times for breakfast, a couple for lunch, and once for supper. The nicest of the dining rooms with lots of naked mermaid art and ample seating. If you have the time for a sit down breakfast or lunch this is a great place to go since it was never busy and service was always fast and the food quality is as good as it gets for the included free dining options. Supper time was busier but still not packed and service was just as fast.

O'Sheehan's Bar & Grill

Ate here several times across all meals. Another great place for breakfast or lunch as it was never busy at those times. Breakfast was brought out super quick and fresh made was much better than the runny buffet scrambled eggs. Lunch and supper menus were the same and just your standard pub fare. Each night had a blue plate special which was usually very good. If you’re looking to get away from the buffet for a night but still want something casual the blue plate special is an excellent choice. It does overlook the atrium where there is usually something going on so not a good choice if you want to eat somewhere without a lot of background noise.

Basketball / Volleyball Court

I spent a good amount of time here. Great place to get out in the sun, get some exercise and almost never was there anyone else there. At the start of the cruise the balls were overinflated and wouldn’t go through the net and by the end they were getting a bit flat so they could use a better basketball maintenance person to make sure the balls are kept at the optimal inflation level.

Stardust Theater

Went to a couple shows here and while the performers were really good the theatre itself is in need of some updating. The first show we sat at floor level. Leg room in the seats was limited and the back support for the seat in front was right at knee level so my knees were digging into a board the whole show. The second show we sat in the balcony which is somewhat hidden and as such there was almost no one up there. Massive leg room if you sit in the front row of the balcony which was great. However the balcony was right at speaker height so it was very loud when the speakers are basically right in front of you. It also made the speaker feedback much more obvious, so the show just didn’t sound as good when sitting in the balcony. Which was unfortunate since once again the performers themselves were good.

Spinnaker Lounge

A very nice venue as it kind of includes a bit of everything all in one place. If you come in the morning before the events of the day start it’s a quiet place to sit with front facing ocean views. The bar there is also very empty when no events are going on so the bartenders will occasionally walk around to check if anyone wants anything. When the events get going there is a nice variety of seating so if you want to be right in the action or lounging further back there’s a seating option to suit everyone’s mood.